Takeaways as Iowa football mishaps gift Indiana Hoosiers a win in Kinnick Stadium

The Iowa Hawkeyes had this game in the palm of their hands. They had the momentum, a chance to win it, and all of the things that you could ask for when trying to upset a ranked team. The game was Iowa's.

Until it wasn't. And by no work of the Indiana Hoosiers. The Iowa Hawkeyes gift-wrapped this game to the Indiana Hoosiers and handed it to them on a silver platter for a 20-15 win.

Iowa was the better team, played better, and passed the eye test as the better team, yet their own mistakes doomed them in the 20-15 loss to Indiana.

As the Hawkeyes fall to 3-2 on the year after giving away a very winnable game, check out the takeaways from the Big Ten matchup.

Iowa's defense played its heart out

The talk all week was about Indiana's offense. Iowa had heard enough. The defense stood up today. Iowa held Indiana to 337 total yards and dominated Heisman favorite QB Fernando Mendoza for 99% of the day. They limited Indiana to 2.7 yards per rush.

Iowa also stood up twice on two fourth-down attempts, stuffing Indiana short to get the ball back to their offense. Add in the late interception and return from Zach Lutmer, and this defense did its job today. They put together a performance good enough to win this game and deserved to win this game.

Drops, drops, drops

How many weeks in a row does Iowa have to have drops doom them before things get fixed? It has gone from the occasional occurrence to a full-on trend. This simply cannot happen for Iowa.

Iowa saw multiple drives end in punts with what should have been conversions on passes that saw tight ends and wide receivers in very catchable spots. This issue has not just reared its head, but has finally become one that cannot be ignored.

Drew Stevens has become a liability

For as good as Drew Stevens has been during his career at Iowa, he has been as streaky as a baseball hitter, and the bad streaks are hurting the Hawkeyes. Drew Stevens has missed a field goal in each of the last three weeks. It is officially a trend and not a random happening.

It feels like late 2023 when Stevens struggled. LeVar Woods and the special teams need to figure out if Stevens is the guy right now or if they need to call on the bullpen until he fixes things.

Mark Gronowski injury update

Mark Gronowski was feeling it today. He was on time. He was accurate. He was confident. He had it going for Iowa in the passing game. Before exiting with an injury, Gronowski was 19-25, which should have been better without drops. That included multiple third-down conversions and big throws.

All attention now turns to his health. He left this game late with a lower-body injury, and his absence undeniably hurt the Iowa offense. Iowa needs this to be a short-term issue and has to hope Gronowski can return in two weeks when they travel to Wisconsin.

Take a step back

This loss stings. It stinks. Iowa had this game and gave it away. That's fair and understandable to think. But let's take a step back.

Iowa took a ranked team, which many have already handed a College Football Playoff berth to, to the very brink. They gave Indiana all they wanted and more. They had the Hoosiers in the Kinnick crosshairs, and Indiana is lucky it escaped with a win.

This game showed Iowa can compete. Iowa is right there. They are among the top teams and don't fear the best of the best. As the season wears on, this type of performance from Iowa should win a lot of games if they can be consistent.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa Football: Takeaways as Hawkeyes gift Indiana Hoosiers a win